Car burglaries strike Tupelo, Saltillo neighborhoods

Many Lee Countians got in their cars Tuesday and discovered valuables missing.

“I had a GPS, which they left behind, but they took my iPod,” said Karen Brenton, who lives in the South Thomas Street area of Tupelo. “All my doors were locked except for the driver’s door. The responding officer told me I wasn’t the first auto burglary of the day at 8 a.m. when I talked to him.”

Brenton wasn’t alone. Eleven auto burglaries were reported Tuesday in Tupelo, most in the South Thomas Street area, according to Lt. Jerry Davis.

In Saltillo, police began working auto burglary investigations around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and continued throughout the morning, with a total of 12, according to Police Chief Grant Bailey. He said the burglaries were concentrated in the Saddle Creek and Scenic Cove neighborhoods, behind Subway off Highway 145 in Saltillo.

“They’re coming in and not busting windows,” Bailey said. “Everything so far has been taken from unlocked vehicles in driveways and carports. They’re going through the vehicles and searching everything in them.”

Brenton said her car had been completely rummaged through. The contents of her center console and glove box were rearranged.

Bailey said residents need to be aware auto burglaries are happening in neighborhoods, even when the cars are parked in carports and garages. “Residents need to please start locking their vehicles,” he said, adding they should keep valuable items stored in their homes or out of sight.